Order of the Phoenix
The Order of the Phoenix was a secret society founded by Albus Dumbledore to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The original Order was created sometime in 1970s, after Voldemort returned to England from abroad and started his campaign to take over the Ministry of Magic and persecute Muggle-borns. The Order worked with the Ministry to oppose the Dark Lord and his followers, and played a crucial role in the First Wizarding War. Victory came in 1981 at the cost of many of their members. The Order disbanded, but was reconvened in 1995 after Harry Potter informed Dumbledore of Lord Voldemort's return. The Ministry refused to admit that the Dark Lord had returned, thus the Order alone worked to protect Harry Potter and the prophecy concerning him and Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. After a battle occurred there in 1996 between the Order and the Death Eaters, the Ministry admitted the truth. However, the next year would see the Order losing their leader and the Ministry being conquered by Voldemort. The Order remained an underground resistance, trying to protect Muggles and broadcast the truth during the worst days of the Second Wizarding War. They answered the call to arms by Dumbledore's Army on 2 May, 1998, fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters for the final time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Battle of Hogwarts ended with Voldemort's death and a decisive victory for the Order and their allies. History Founding and First Wizarding War , James Potter, Lily Evans and Remus Lupin.]] Origin . The Order of the Phoenix was founded by Albus Dumbledore during Lord Voldemort's first rise to power in the 1970s. Dumbledore formed the Order to combat Voldemort's increasing threat and power. Aurors from the Ministry of Magic also joined the Order to participate in more secretive, sudden assaults aimed to crush the Dark Rebellion. Dumbledore created a method of communication among Order members by inventing a way to make Patronuses speak. Although the Death Eaters had been attacking mostly Muggles and Muggle-borns to spread terror, they soon turned to attacking "blood traitors" such as Order members as well. Fabian and Gideon Prewett were killed by a group of five Death Eaters led by Antonin Dolohov. Caradoc Dearborn disappeared, the Bones family was almost completely destroyed, Benjy Fenwick was brutally murdered, and Marlene McKinnon and her family were killed by Death Eaters, including Travers. Even as the Order suffered great losses, they continued to fight, and four of their members — James and Lily Potter, and Frank and Alice Longbottom — defied Voldemort himself three times.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The Prophecy is murdered by Lord Voldemort, one of Voldemort's biggest mistakes.]] This defiance made the two couples and their infant sons Harry and Neville targets of a prophecy concerning a person with the power to defeat the Dark Lord. Then Death Eater Severus Snape heard part of the prophecy and reported it to Voldemort, who believed it referred to Harry Potter. He decided to hunt down the Potters, choosing the half-blood Harry, like Voldemort himself, as opposed to the pure blood, Neville. The Potters, who were in hiding under the Fidelius Charm, caused Snape to switch sides, since he had always been deeply in love with Lily Potter.Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows It was not enough to save them, however; the Potters' Secret-Keeper Peter Pettigrew betrayed them, and Voldemort came to their home in Godric's Hollow on 31 October, 1981. He summarily killed James, but offered Lily a chance to live, as requested by Severus Snape. She refused, begging for her son's life, and Voldemort used the Killing Curse against her and then on Harry. Because Lily had willingly sacrificed herself out of love for her son, Harry was protected, and the curse backfired. Because Voldemort had made Horcruxes, he did not die, but he lost physical form. He also inadvertently made Harry himself a Horcrux, as a piece of his soul embedded itself into a scar on Harry's forehead. Pettigrew fled the scene and faked his own death by hiding in his Animagus form and cutting off his own finger, while killing many innocent muggles with one spell, thus Sirius Black was blamed for his crimes, and thrown into Azkaban without a trial''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Disbandment trials in 1981.]] The First Wizarding War ended with a victory for the Order and the Ministry, but the Death Eaters were still a danger. Four of them — the Lestrange brothers; Rabastan and Rodolphus, Rodolphus' wife Bellatrix, and Barty Crouch Jr — attacked the Longbottoms shortly after their master's defeat. Seeking information about their master's downfall, the Death Eaters drove Alice and Frank insane with the Cruciatus Curse. The Death Eaters and many of their comrades were caught and sentenced to Azkaban, some of them turned in by Igor Karkaroff, who was released in exchange for information. Others, such as Lucius Malfoy, managed to avoid prison by claiming to have only served Voldemort under the Imperius Curse, though Order members were sceptical of such claims.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, who had turned spy for the Order "at great personal risk" prior to Voldemort's fall, suspected that Voldemort would return, and they determined that Harry Potter had to be protected. However, the war was over, and the Order was disbanded. The members were, for the most part, powerful witches and wizards with many other demands on their time, and, if the second incarnation of the Order is indicative, there may well have been internal pressures and uncertainties which, in the absence of a clear, external threat, would make it inadvisable to attempt to maintain the group. The Order reconvenes .]] On 24 June, 1995, Lord Voldemort returned to power. His servant Barty Crouch Jr, disguised as Alastor Moody, had manipulated the Goblet of Fire in order to ensure Harry Potter became a Champion of the Triwizard Tournament. When Harry and fellow Champion Cedric Diggory touched the Triwizard Cup, not knowing that it had been made a Portkey, they were transported to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. Peter Pettigrew killed Cedric and then performed a ritual to resurrect Voldemort, who then summoned his Death Eaters to him. Harry managed to escape and inform Albus Dumbledore of the Dark Lord's return. Within an hour, the original Order members had been informed. Dumbledore sent Sirius Black, who was still wanted by the Ministry, in his Animagus form (a dog), to alert key members such as Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher, and Remus Lupin to the new threat. Upon its reconstitution, the Order set up headquarters at 12 Grimmauld Place, London — Sirius's family home. The house was protected with the Fidelius Charm, with Dumbledore as Secret-Keeper. Members of the Order were assigned by Dumbledore to protect Harry Potter and for guard duty. Harry and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also assisted the Order, though, being under-age, they were not official members. Ministry relations '' article questioning Dumbledore's sanity for claiming Voldemort had returned.]] Although Dumbledore and the original members of the Order accepted the return of Lord Voldemort, members of the Ministry of Magic, including Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, were not convinced. Fudge preferred to believe that Dumbledore was spreading rumours in an attempt to undercut his authority as Minister. Years earlier, there had been widespread support for Dumbledore to take the position, although he declined, choosing instead to remain at Hogwarts. In his early years as Minister, Fudge was constantly bombarding Dumbledore, frantically seeking advice. These actions sowed the seeds of paranoia in Fudge, as he feared Dumbledore would usurp his power. He also accused Dumbledore of "going senile in his old years", and that he was clearly mistaken about Voldemort's return. However, some Aurors in the Ministry, such as Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, came to believe Dumbledore and joined the Order in secret. Under the Ministry's influence, the Daily Prophet portrayed Dumbledore and Harry as either liars or nutters, thus many members of the public did not believe in Voldemort's return either. The Order was forced to exist underground and certain members were unable to even greet one another in public for fear of exposing their allegiances. Voldemort and his Death Eaters took advantage of the Ministry's folly, conducting their business in secret for a year. Among their goals was to obtain a record of the prophecy concerning Voldemort and Harry , which was kept in the Department of Mysteries. The Order kept guard of the area, but were hampered by the Ministry's lack of cooperation. in the Department of Mysteries.]] Voldemort eventually managed to lure Harry there, along with five members of Dumbledore's Army, an organisation Harry, Hermione, and Ron founded at Hogwarts in response to Ministry employee Dolores Umbridge refusing to teach students practical Defence Against the Dark Arts. The group of teenagers were ambushed by twelve Death Eaters. The Order became aware of this through Severus Snape, and Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, and Kingsley Shacklebolt raced to the Ministry to battle the Death Eaters. They managed to save the students, and the prophecy was destroyed, but Sirius was killed by his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. Albus Dumbledore helped round up the other Death Eaters, summoned the Aurors, and then duelled Voldemort in defence of Harry. All of the Order members that participated in the battle were wounded other than Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore. In addition, all Dumbledore's Army members were injured except for Harry. Several Ministry personnel, including Minister Fudge, entered the Ministry Atrium at the end of this duel, thus seeing Voldemort for themselves. Voldemort Disapparated with Bellatrix, but Fudge was forced to admit that Dumbledore and Harry Potter had been right. He was soon replaced by Rufus Scrimgeour as Minister for Magic.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Second Wizarding War Guarding Hogwarts over Hogwarts during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower.]] The battle marked the official beginning of the Second Wizarding War. Although Scrimgeour was a more proactive Minister than Fudge had been, he proved to be suspicious of the Order and of Dumbledore as well. He tried to convince Harry Potter to ally himself with the Ministry to boost public morale, but Harry was disgusted by Scrimgeour's high-handed methods and declared his loyalty to Dumbledore and the Order. Over the course of the school year, Dumbledore taught Harry about Voldemort's past and of the existence of his Horcruxes. In the meantime, the Order kept watch at Hogwarts. However, Draco Malfoy managed to use a Vanishing Cabinet to get Death Eaters into the school, and the Battle of the Astronomy Tower ensued. Dumbledore was cornered by Malfoy, but the boy lowered his wand, and Severus Snape stepped in to kill Dumbledore. Not knowing that this was a plan Dumbledore and Snape had designed earlier, the Order believed that they had been betrayed. Protecting Harry and Losing the Ministry Now under the leadership of Alastor Moody, the Order's next goal was to remove Harry from his relatives' home before the protection (The Trace) offered by his mother's blood expired on his seventeenth birthday. The Order also assigned two of its members, Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones, to take Harry's relatives into hiding so that they could not be targeted by Death Eaters. At the time, the Ministry was being infiltrated by the Death Eaters and Harry was being watched. Thus, the Order had to fly him out, using six decoys disguised as Harry with Polyjuice Potion. Despite being ambushed by over thirty Death Eaters and Voldemort himself, the Order managed to get Harry to safety at the Burrow, their next headquarters since Snape knew of 12 Grimmauld Place. Sadly, Moody and Harry's owl Hedwig were killed in the fray. Not long after, on 1 August, 1997, the Death Eaters seized control of the Ministry. Scrimgeour was murdered and Pius Thicknesse, who Yaxley had under the Imperius Curse, was installed as Voldemort's puppet Minister for Magic. Kingsley Shacklebolt managed to warn the Order of the coup by sending his Patronus to the Burrow where Bill and Fleur's reception was being held. Various Order members were interrogated, but none were killed. In the meantime, Harry had vanished along with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The three sought to find and destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, of which the rest of the Order had not been informed. Resistance ]] While Voldemort controlled the Ministry, the Order members were fugitives. The Weasleys were kept under surveillance and the Taboo curse was placed upon Voldemort's name, since only enemies of the Dark Lord were willing to speak it aloud. Kingsley was nearly caught after saying the name, but managed to fight off the Death Eaters that attacked him and went on the run. The Weasleys were also forced into hiding after it was discovered that Ron was travelling with Harry, "Undesirable Number One," in the spring of 1998. The Order led the underground resistance, participating in the radio programme Potterwatch, which broadcast the truth while the Daily Prophet and other news outlets were controlled by the Ministry. The Order encouraged people to do as they were doing — protect innocent Muggles being harmed for the amusement of Death Eaters, and Muggle-borns who were being persecuted by the Ministry's new Muggle-Born Registration Commission. members in the Great Hall]] Battle of Hogwarts On 2 May, 1998, the Order received the call to arms from Neville Longbottom, who was left leading Dumbledore's Army at the Death Eater-controlled Hogwarts. With the D.A., the Order of the Phoenix took a final stand against Voldemort and his army. They formulated the battle plan with the professors of Hogwarts, who led fighters to the three highest towers, while Kingsley, Remus Lupin, and Arthur Weasley led troops to the school grounds, and Fred and George Weasley organised the defence of the entrances and passageways into the school. The Battle of Hogwarts resulted in Order members Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape and Fred Weasley losing their lives, but they triumphed over the Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself was defeated by Harry Potter. Tonks was killed by Bellatrix Lestrange and Remus was killed by a powerful Death Eater Antonin Dolohov and Snape was killed by Nagini on Voldemort's orders Members of the Order of the Phoenix ordermembers.JPG|Albus Dumbledore (founder) Alastor Moody Profile.JPG|Alastor Moody kingsley-shacklebolt-1.jpg|Kingsley Shacklebolt AberforthInfobox.jpg|Aberforth Dumbledore|link=Aberforth Dumbledore deda.JPG|Dedalus Diggle Alice1.jpg|Alice Longbottom Frank1.jpg|Frank Longbottom mrsfiggy.jpg|Arabella Figg Dorcas Meadowes.jpg|Dorcas Meadowes Elpiass.jpg|Elphias Doge ememain.jpg|Emmeline Vance G f prewett.JPG|Fabian and Gideon Prewett James 1998.jpg|James Potter Lily DHP2.jpg|Lily Evans Marlene McKinnon.PNG|Marlene McKinnon minervamcgonagall19998.jpg|Minerva McGonagall hags.JPG|Rubeus Hagrid Sirius Black Profile.JPG|Sirius Black Remus Lupin.jpg|Remus Lupin Nymphadora Tonks.jpg|Nymphadora Tonks Severus Snape.jpg|Severus Snape jefee.jpg|Arthur Weasley mollypage.jpg|Molly Weasley B303025b36eb92e5766b5f372ed84c35.jpg|Bill Weasley FleurDH.jpg|Fleur Delacour Charlie1.jpg|Charlie Weasley Fredo.jpg|Fred Weasley gero.jpg|George Weasley Profile2.jpg|Harry Potter Hermionedhface.jpg|Hermione Granger Rondhface.jpg|Ronald Weasley Mundungas.png|Mundungus Fletcher Peter Pettigrew.jpg|Peter Pettigrew (betrayed) Olumpemaxime.jpg|Olympe Maxime Allies of the Order of the Phoenix During the First Wizarding War, the Order was allied with the Ministry of Magic. During the Second Wizarding War, however, the Ministry was at times sceptical of Lord Voldemort's return, and later taken over by Voldemort's followers. The Order was allied with Dumbledore's Army as well as various individuals during that conflict. Andromeda Black Family Tree.jpg|Andromeda Tonks Snapshot-2010-02-18-17h16m20s24.jpg|Augusta Longbottom DobbyDH.png|Dobby Professorwizard2.jpg|Filius Flitwick Promos GinaWeasley hp6.jpg|Ginny Weasley 34272-26957.gif|Grawp Sluggy2-1.jpg|Horace Slughorn 006pa8xx.jpg|Kreacher LeeJordan.jpg|Lee Jordan Lunathogwarts.jpg|Luna Lovegood Tumblr laprunzs6E1qc3fxzo1 1280.jpg|Muriel 400px-Nevootp.jpg|Neville Longbottom Oliver WoodDH2.jpg|Oliver Wood Maxime.jpg|Olympe Maxime Percy WeasleyDH2.jpg|Percy Weasley Professor Sprout.jpg|Pomona Sprout House-elf, Winky (Concept Artwork for the HP4 film).jpg|Winky Unidentified teacher in slug party.jpg|Female Teacher|link=Unidentified female Hogwarts teacher 1270889509174 f.jpg|Sybill Trelawney Dumbledore's Army.jpg|Dumbledore's Army Etymology , Dumbledore's phoenix.]] The Order of the Phoenix is named for the magical bird. The Order's founder and original leader, Albus Dumbledore, had a phoenix named Fawkes for pet, and his Patronus also took the form of a phoenix. Fawkes gave two feathers to comprise the cores of the wands of Harry Potter and Lord VoldemortHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, key figures in the conflict between the Order and the Death Eaters. Fawkes also participated in the conflict at least twice: he came to Harry's aid against Slytherin's BasiliskHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and later at the battle of the Department of Mysteries took a Killing Curse Voldemort aimed at Dumbledore. In mythology, the phoenix often represents resurrection and life after death. This could allude to how the Order of the Phoenix was reborn after Voldemort returned to power, and how Harry Potter survived two Killing Curses. The Order's name thus symbolises their opposition to an organisation focused on causing death and finding unnatural, Dark methods of achieving immortality. Behind the scenes Apparating into the Department of Mysteries.]] *In the film adaptation of the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, which differs significantly from the novel version, the Order of the Phoenix members Apparate into the Department of Mysteries and save the Dumbledore's Army members by Apparating directly into the Death Eaters holding them at wand-point. *Also in the films, Order members are shown as Apparating in clouds of white smoke, while the Death Eaters Apparate in clouds of black smoke. This may be a reference to the Death Eaters' use and corruption by Dark Magic, causing them to apparate in black smoke, as opposed to the white smoke of the Order members. *Molly Weasley is not stated to have been a member of the original Order, despite her brothers being members. This is likely due to the fact that she gave birth to, and took care of, seven children during the course of the First Wizarding WarBill was born in 1970, which is approximately when the war began, and Ginny was born in 1981, two months before the end of the war.. *If the list of members of the Order of the Phoenix, above, is complete, then the mortality rate (including permanent incapacitation) of members during the First and Second Wizarding Wars combined rivals that of the Black Death in fourteenth-century Europe. About 44% of members died during the First Wizarding War, and 26% were killed by Death Eaters during the course of the Second Wizarding War. *It may be that the Order of the Phoenix was inspired by the , where one of J.K. Rowling's professed favourite authors, , was a member. The argument is made more likely by the fact that several original members of the Order of the Phoenix seem to be named after members of the Fabian Society: Emmeline Vance for , Fabian Prewett for the Fabian Society itself, Sturgis Podmore for , and Kingsley Shacklebolt for . The Fabian Society's members were also closely associated with a magical association called the . Appearances *''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' *''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game)'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'' *''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)'' *''LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7'' *''Pottermore'' Notes and references es:Orden del Fénix et:Fööniksi Ordu fr:Ordre du Phénix id:Orde Phoenix pl:Zakon Feniksa ru:Орден Феникса fi:Feeniksin kilta nl:Orde van de Feniks Category:Battle of Hogwarts participants Category:Battle of the Astronomy Tower participants Category:Battle of the Department of Mysteries participants Category:Battle of the Seven Potters participants Category:Blood traitors Category:Death Eaters Enemies Category:Order of the Phoenix Category:Organisations